Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Italian terrorist Cesare Battisti — a fugitive who lived in exile in France for many years — has turned up in Brazil. The Brazilian government refuses to extradite him to Italy, and the Italians are up in arms over this affront. The Italian ambassador to Brazil has been withdrawn. There’s a story in the “Latin America” section below, and Fausta has more.

[Comment from JD: We hear a lot about “Human Rights” these days. This Christian article clearly explains what the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ means for the average citizen. (Although written in 1998 once can see many of these policies being implemented today — notably in the EU — and now recently in the USA.) The article is well worth reading for an explanation of these “rights”.]

At the first glance, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sounds good, as do all the intrusive UN human rights treaties. Article 18 upholds “the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion…” Article 19 affirms “the right to freedom of opinion and expression… and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”

But Article 29 states that “these rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.” In other words, these “rights” or “freedoms” don’t apply to those who would criticize the UN or its policies. Your rights would be conditioned on your compliance. Only if your message supports official ideology are you free to speak it. As Andrei Vishinsky wrote in The Law of the Soviet State, “There can be no place for freedom of speech, press, and so on for the foes of socialism.”[2]

(…)

Like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child uses manipulative and misleading language. According to Article 13, “The child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers…” In other words, parents have no authority to keep a child from reading a sexually explicit magazine or visiting pagan chat rooms on Internet.

While parents lose their right to set safe boundaries for their children, the State assumes full power to “protect” the child and define the rules. Thus Article 13 concludes with: “This right may be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary for respect of the rights or reputations of others; or for protection of national security or public order.”

Likewise, if parents restrict their child’s “right to freedom of association” or their child’s ambiguous rights to “privacy” or “conscience and religion” (Articles 14 -16), they would break this law and face the potential loss of their child to the state’s “protection” services.

(…)

“Preventing youth hate crime through publication in January of a guide for schools entitled ‘Protecting Students from Harassment and Hate Crimes,’ developed jointly by the Department of Education and the National Association of Attorneys General. The guide provides suggestions to school systems for addressing the issue of school violence.”

Remember, words such as violence and hate have been redefined to reflect a global perspective. They now include various forms of conflict, biblical “intolerance”, and failure to comply with the new global standards for mental health, i.e. the attitudes, values, beliefs, behavior, and collective mindset required for community solidarity. (See “Zero Tolerance for Non-Compliance” and “Clinton’s War on Hate Bans Christian values”)

Appearing on ABC’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi claimed, “Contraceptives will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.” The petulant lawmaker who is the mother of five children and six grandchildren, and who at one time opined “nothing in my life will ever, ever compare to being a mom,” now feels the children of others are a drain to the economy.

Pelosi told Stephanopoulos: “Family planning services reduce cost….The states are in terrible fiscal budget crises now and part of what we do for children’s health, education and some of those elements are to help the states meet their financial needs. One of the initiatives… mentioned, the contraception, will reduce costs to the states and to the federal government.”

She added that she had “no apologies” for her position — saying, “We have to deal with the consequences of the downturn in our economy.” Pelosi’s comments eerily reflect the exact sentiments of Margaret Sanger, the progenitor of Planned Parenthood and today’s abortion industry.

Specific to that point, I submit the reasonable interpretation of Pelosi’s comments is that she was in actuality referring to blacks, illegals and the poor in general. What other groups of children could reasonably be viewed as a “financial burden” on the economy? Are we not daily bombarded with statistics referencing black illegitimacy? Are we not led to believe SCHIP is for the poor? And when poor children are referenced or depicted, are they not most often black? Are not illegal immigrant women having upwards of 500,000 babies per year? I ask again, to what other groups could she possibly be referring?

He talked Friday to the Free Press at length about the nature of terrorism and terrorists (He’s not one, but John McCain is and “I’m as much an American as Sarah Palin”), his relationship with Obama (“I would say he’s a guy in the neighborhood, as he said about me.”) and whether the results of the election mean the revolution is over. He denied knowledge of a 1970 Weather Underground plot to blow up Detroit police facilities.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The recession is killing jobs at an alarming pace, with tens of thousands of new layoffs announced Monday by some of the biggest names in American business—Pfizer, Caterpillar and Home Depot.

More pink slips, pay freezes and other hits are expected to slam workers in the months ahead as companies desperately look for ways to survive.

“We’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg—the big firms,” said Rebecca Braeu, economist at John Hancock Financial Services. “There’s certainly other firms beneath them that will lay off workers as quickly or even quicker.”

Looking ahead, economists predicted a net loss of at least 2 million jobs— possibly more—this year even if President Barack Obama’s $825 billion package of increased government spending and tax cuts is enacted. Last year, the economy lost a net 2.6 million jobs, the most since 1945, though the labor force has grown significantly since then.

The unemployment rate, now at a 16-year high of 7.2 percent, could hit 10 percent or higher later this year or early next year, under some analysts’ projections.

Obama called on Congress Monday to speedily enact his recovery plan, warning that the nation can’t afford “distractions” or “delays.”

A federal judge today denied a further attempt by the controversial Council on American-Islamic Relations to extract attorney fees and costs in a case nationally syndicated radio talk show host Michael Savage brought against the Muslim lobby group.

Judge Susan Illston of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California rejected CAIR’s request for reconsideration of her Nov. 12 order denying a motion that Savage pay attorney’s fees to the Washington, D.C.-based group.

The original targets of the Ku Klux Klan were Republicans, both black and white, according to a new television program and book, which describe how the Democrats started the KKK and for decades harassed the GOP with lynchings and threats.

An estimated 3,446 blacks and 1,297 whites died at the end of KKK ropes from 1882 to 1964.

The documentation has been assembled by David Barton of Wallbuilders and published in his book “Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black & White,” which reveals that not only did the Democrats work hand-in-glove with the Ku Klux Klan for generations, they started the KKK and endorsed its mayhem.

“Of all forms of violent intimidation, lynchings were by far the most effective,” Barton said in his book. “Republicans often led the efforts to pass federal anti-lynching laws and their platforms consistently called for a ban on lynching. Democrats successfully blocked those bills and their platforms never did condemn lynchings.”

Further, the first grand wizard of the KKK was honored at the 1868 Democratic National Convention, no Democrats voted for the 14th Amendment to grant citizenship to former slaves and, to this day, the party website ignores those decades of racism, he said.

“Although it is relatively unreported today, historical documents are unequivocal that the Klan was established by Democrats and that the Klan played a prominent role in the Democratic Party,” Barton writes in his book. “In fact, a 13-volume set of congressional investigations from 1872 conclusively and irrefutably documents that fact.

WASHINGTON (January 27, 2009) — In the 2004 general election, President Bush garnered perhaps 39 or 40 percent of the Latino vote. Four years later, after extensive debate on immigration, Sen. McCain received approximately 32 percent of the Latino vote. Some have suggested that the GOP’s stance on immigration has hindered political gains among Hispanic voters.

The Center for Immigration Studies has released a new Backgrounder challenging that assertion. “Latino Voting in the 2008 Election: Part of a Broader Electoral Movement,” by Prof. James G. Gimpel of the University of Maryland, argues that GOP losses in the election were not limited to Hispanic voters and not affected by the immigration debate.

Among the findings:

# Exit polls from Election Day indicated that President Barack Obama won 67 percent of the Latino vote, and John McCain 32 percent. This compares to estimates of Latino support for George W. Bush in the range of 39 percent or higher in 2004. In 2000, Bush is thought to have received 35 percent of the Latino vote.

# McCain’s consistent history of advocating a legalization program for illegal immigrants made no impression on Latino voters.

# McCain lost the Latino vote by a wide margin even in his home state of Arizona, 56 to 41 percent. This was in spite of widespread news coverage of his immigration stance in that state.

# The drop in Republican support among Latinos between 2004 and 2008 was part of a broad-based electoral movement away from the GOP, and was hardly specific to that demographic group. McCain received only 57 percent of the white male vote, compared with 62 percent for Bush in 2004, and McCain’s 55 percent of regular church goers was significantly lower than Bush’s 61 percent.

President Obama reached out to the Muslim world Monday in an exclusive interview on Arab television network Al Arabiya.

“In all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I’ve come to understand is that regardless of your faith — and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers — regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams,” Obama said in the wide ranging interview, a transcript of which can be found below.

The freshly-minted president spoke about the prospects for peace in the Middle East, the nuclear threat posed by Iran and the stake that America has in the overall well-being of the Arab world. Mr. Obama praised the people of Iran, but chided their government for stirring up trouble in the region.

“Iran has acted in ways that’s not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past — none of these things have been helpful,” Obama said.

[…]

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The largest one, Indonesia. And so what I want to communicate is the fact that in all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I’ve come to understand is that regardless of your faith — and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers — regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams.

(ANSAmed) — WASHINGTON, JANUARY 27 — Barack Obama has chosen an Arab television channel for his first formal interview as president of the United States, to send a message to the Muslim world: “The Americans are not your enemies”. In the interview Dubai-based channel Al-Arabiya, broadcast at the same time American envoy George Mitchell arrived in the Middle East, Obama tried to renew the dialogue with the Muslim world which, in his opinion, has been damaged by eight years of Bush administration. The United States have made mistakes in its relation with the Arab countries and countries with a Muslim majority, the American president said, “but there is no reason we cannot have the same type of respect and collaboration back which America had with the Muslim world 20 or 30 years ago”. The president reminded that he was brought up in Indonesia, a country with a Muslim majority, and that he has Muslim relatives. The real enemy are fundamentalists like Al Qaeda, reminded Obama, but they too “seem nervous, and that tells me that their ideas have gone bankrupt”. (ANSAmed).

Kinsolving continued, “Since the members of Congress who have applied to join the Congressional Black Caucus have been turned down because, as the black caucus’ William Lacey Clay put it, ‘they are white and the caucus is black,’ my question: Does the president hope the caucus will stop this racial discrimination?”

“There have been three of them who have applied and they’ve been turned down because they are not black, and that is the policy of the Congressional Black Caucus, and if you can ask the president, I would be delighted to hear,” Kinsolving said.

George Bush’s vigorous defense of our national security and vocal pride in our values and goodness went a long way to getting rid of the “kick me” sign liberal America has hung on our collective back. You know, that reflex of guilt and shame about our society and history, that eager rush to apologize for our presumed sins, that willingness to blame ourselves for the world’s ills and take seriously the self-interested slanders of states whose record of dysfunction and crime outstrips ours by miles. But now here comes Barack Obama, who for all his obligatory praise of America——most of it predicated on the fact that he was elected——so far seems eager to don once again the hair shirt of American sin.

Take one of the reasons for closing down Guantanamo: that it will enhance our reputation in the world, sullied by George Bush and his regime of secret prisons, torture, and violation of international norms. The Muslim Middle East, so the argument goes, has been enraged by these practices, and this anger creates support for the jihadists. So according to this view, we’re supposed to take seriously the criticisms of peoples whose own governments regularly torture and abuse dissidents, provide money for terrorist murderers, and don’t even acknowledge such things as human rights? Or we’re supposed to credit the opinion of those Muslims——and there are millions of them, from Spain to Indonesia—— who regularly celebrate the murder of Jews and Americans and Indians, who danced in the streets after 9/11, and who name their sons Osama and pray for the destruction of the “Great Satan”?

Only a toxic self-loathing could put the views of such people ahead of our own security and belief in the justice of our cause. This same pathology explains why we take seriously charges of imperialistic aggression coming from practitioners of a faith that ignited one of the most aggressive and destructive imperial expansions in history. It explains the suicidal double-standard whereby Muslim attacks on Jews and Christians, or Muslim desecration of Jewish and Christian holy places, are ignored in the West, at the same time we wring our hands and apologize over innocuous cartoons whose publication expresses our cherished right to free speech. Behind this lunacy lies the notion that we have it coming, that we are guilty, that our motives are impure, that we are the arch-demons behind all global misery——when by any objective reading of history America has been, and still is, the greatest force for good in history.

The White House is promising new reviews of the “obligations” to the government by broadcasters who “occupy the nation’s spectrum” just as the president has targeted conservative talk radio icon Rush Limbaugh for a public attack, raising concerns over the possible restoration of the “Fairness Doctrine,” a policy that failed as unneeded and unconstitutional two decades ago.

Paul Ibrahim of NorthStarWriters.com cited Obama’s warning to congressional Republicans that “you can’t just listen to Rush Limbaugh and get things done” in suggesting the president has become the “driving force” because a new “systematic” plan to “intimidate and demonize Obama’s opponents.”

That such a campaign was launched only days after Obama’s inauguration is “tremendously perturbing,” he wrote.

“Welcome to the politics of hope ‘n’ change. Obama’s startling attempt to hang Limbaugh’s scalp on the wall is a warning that the new ruler does not want unity — he demands it,” Ibrahim wrote.

The Belgian foreign ministry distanced itself Monday from statements by a Flemish minister who likened Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip to a recent deadly attack on a nursery near Brussels, allegedly perpetrated by a deranged assailant.

The affair drew unusually harsh words from Israel’s embassy in Brussels, which called the comparison “reckless, absurd and offensive.”

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The Dendermonde nursery attack, which shocked the nation, occurred on Friday. Police believe 20-year-old Kim De Gelder perpetrated the stabbing attack in which two infants and a woman were killed and eleven children were wounded. Police later named De Gelder, who is under arrest, as the suspect of a fourth, earlier murder of a 73-year-old woman.

“[The attack] shocks all of us,” Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport in the Flemish Government Bert Anciaux wrote in Dutch in his official website on the day of the attack. “I must also think of the hundreds of dead children in the Gaza Strip, who were also knowingly killed by an aggressor who got away. Here, too, death and violence have struck.”

In her reaction to a query on the matter, Belgium’s ambassador to Israel, Bénédicte Frankinet, said: “The Belgian Minister of Foreign Affairs has voiced strong concern about the civilian casualties, including many children, resulting from Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, as well as for the victims of the rocket attacks by Hamas.

She added: “Any comparison with other tragic events does not reflect in anyway the position expressed by the Minister [of Foreign Affairs] or by the Belgian Government.”

A spokesperson for the Israeli embassy in Brussels issued an unusually harsh statement in condemnation of the comparison, accusing Anciaux of “demonizing Israel,” and of “importing” the Middle East conflict into the streets of Belgian towns.

“In light of the violence we have seen directed at Jews during the recent conflagration, and the acrimonious statements in demonstrations against Israel, politicians need to show restraint when speaking about the Middle East conflict,” embassy media liaison Laurent Reichman told Haaretz.

“This redundant statement can only be seen as a reckless deed,” the embassy said. “Comparing the Middle East reality with the actions of a lone, deranged individual is absurd and offensive both to the families of the Dendermonde victims and to the Jewish state.”

According the Antwerp-based Jewish periodical Joods Actueel, the minister’s statement was received with anger by some Flemish ministers. The paper also said that Minister-President of Flanders Kris Peeters is interested in formulating, in collaboration with Anciaux, a further reaction to the controversial statement.

Speaking on Fabio Fazio’s talk show, France’s First Lady reveals: “I was more left-wing before I married Sarkozy”

MILAN — “I’m pleased you asked me that. It surprises me that the Italian media think I played any part in that. I wouldn’t presume. To start with, I don’t have that ideology. I’ve never defended Cesare Battisti. And I’m happy to be able to say it to the victims of terrorism during the ‘years of lead’. It’s all very déplacé [inappropriate — Trans.], as they say in France. The president’s wife would never speak to the president of Brazil about an issue in which France is not even involved. For me, that was slander”.

We are a quarter of an hour into the interview with Fabio Fazio on the “Che tempo che fa” show and the “Slug” (according to Turin-born comedienne Luciana Littizzetto, Ms Bruni is “the only slug that can stand up straight despite not having a shell”), the ice-cold, sombrely accoutred Mme Sarkozy, has at last got round to the topic the journalists in the back row of the RAI TV3 studios in Milan have come to hear. What was Carla Bruni’s role in the refusal of extradition for Battisti, the former leader of the Armed Proletarians for Communism? None. “I didn’t, I never had any intention to and I’m not offering explanations”. In other words, perhaps yes. “Perhaps from the official visit to Brazil”.

Carla Bruna speaks elegantly. She addresses Fazio using the confidential “tu” and the conversation unfolds “comme si de rien n’était”, as if nothing had happened, which is also the title of her latest, very successful album. The French president’s wife flew in by private jet, arriving punctually at the RAI building in Corso Sempione. No superstar backstage requests. Her dressing room was provided only with a basket of fruit, crudités, a chicken salad and a bouquet of sunflowers, which security duly checked. No RAI make-up. No fee. But then, the proceeds from her record are also going to charity. “I don’t need any more than what I have”, Ms Bruni cooed to a particularly ingratiating Fazio (“I’m entranced”). Mme Sarkozy looked at ease, but weighed every word. “I’m careful when I say anything now. I’m not quite so flippant. When I represent a country, I do so in such a way as not to say anything that might shock”. You couldn’t help thinking back to the “young, good-looking, tanned Obama” whom Silvio Berlusconi congratulated on his election to the White House when Ms Bruni said that she was happy not to be Italian any more. The incident wasn’t mentioned on air but the singer — that was the capacity in which she agreed to the unofficial interview — did say that for the past six months she has had dual nationality. “I could have given up my Italian nationality but I would have had to make a special application and I didn’t want to”. The French weekly magazine Le Point regards Carla Bruni as Nicolas Sarkozy’s left-wing conscience. “Before I met him, I was much more to the left, although never militant. He knew this and has never asked me to change my views. He thinks I’m more focused on the human side while he concentrates on technical things”…

Campaigns to protect animal and plants species because they are native to Britain are “racist”, a leading environmental historian has claimed.

There is no justification for conservationists to defend particular species because of their “ethnicity”, Professor Christopher Smout writes in a new book, Exploring Environmental History.

Campaigns against “alien invaders” — such as the cull of American ruddy ducks to prevent them from breeding with European duck species — have no basis in science, he argues.

“Conservationists are up in arms because they fear the ducks will all get turned into some kind of mishmash,” he told The Independent.

“The conservationists would say: ‘We’re doing this because it’s endangering the genetic integrity of the white-headed duck.”

“I don’t think that’s a scientifically valid point of view. The concern with genetic integrity seems almost quasi-racist. Our attitude to alien species is culturally determined and sometimes you end up with rather bizarre actions by scientists.”

Prof Smout, who is Scotland’s Historiographer Royal and founder of the Institute for Environmental History at St Andrews University, said that conservationists should judge species based on whether or not they are pests, and ignore their origins.

He added that interbreeding between species could often bring evolutionary benefits, and dismissed fears that the genetic identity of red deer in Scotland is threatened by silka deer, which were brought to the UK from Asia in 1860.

A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds described the “quasi-racism” charge as outrageous, and said that conservationists “give their lives to give beleaguered native fauna a chance”.

Havlickuv Brod — Petr Zelenka known as “heparin murderer,” now serving a life sentence for the murder of seven people in a local hospital, is responsible for another three murders and one attempted murder, police spokeswoman Iva Markova told Novinky server.

Zelenka will not, however, be prosecuted for the newly uncovered crimes because he cannot be given a higher sentence, Markova said.

The police were looking into another 14 cases in which murders and attempted murders were suspected in connection with Zelenka.

Ten cases have been shelved because the police could not say whether a crime was committed.

Zelenka who worked at the anaesthesiological-resuscitation ward of the Havlickuv Brod hospital administered heparin to patients from May until September 2006 according to the file.

He caused the patients serious health complications and blood dilution that resulted in the death of some of them.

Zelenka admitted all crimes during the preparatory proceedings, but he said during the trial that he administered heparin to five persons and that he does not remember the details of other cases. He claimed the police forced him into the original confession.

Courts eventually proved seven murders and ten attempted murders.

According to the verdict, Zelenka administered heparin to the patients because he liked the excitement about the crisis situation and the consequent activities of the hospital staff.

Border police are introducing a policy of sending potential asylum seekers on the train to the asylum accommodation centre rather than waste man hours driving them across country

Asylum seekers entering Denmark at the German border or the islands south of Zealand will no longer be guaranteed a free lift to the asylum accommodation centre by the police.

Police have cut back on the amount of round trips needed to bring potential asylum seekers to the Sandholm Centre, 40 kilometres north of Copenhagen by sticking new arrivals on the train. Officers at the border patrol in south Jutland previously had to drive to northern Zealand two or three times a week to deliver asylum seekers. Head of the police’s border patrol department at Padborg, Jutland said that asylum seekers should have no problem following the directions to the asylum centre as all train interchanges are indicated with symbols to overcome any language barriers.

South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police have had the train policy in operation for more than a month and in that time 30 asylum seekers have been sent to Sandholm on the train. Yet only half arrived at their destination.

Asylum seekers to Denmark have a duty to report themselves to police after which they are sent to an approved accommodation centre or private residence to await the decision taken on their asylum application.

Deputy police commissioner for the South Zealand and Lolland-Falster Police, Leif Fuglsand said the missing asylum seekers were not an issue.

‘The others have either gone to Norway or Sweden or are staying with other people here in Denmark. No one is missing from the system, but those that have left are no longer seeking asylum in Denmark,’ Fuglsang said to public broadcaster DR. Underage, elderly or ill asylum seekers will still be driven to the centre by police.

Four immigrants tried for the kidnapping of a young boy have been convicted and now await sentencing by the court Four Chinese immigrants have been found guilty by the Lyngby District Court of kidnapping a five-year-old boy last April.

[Comment from Tuan Jim: Would the immigrants have been identified if they had been middle eastern? Perhaps in this paper — since they did mention the Iraqi Kurdish criminals previously.]

Oliver Chaaning, the son of a restaurant-owning family, was torn from his mother’s arms as she picked him up from his nursery school. He was then reportedly blindfolded and gagged before being stuffed into a suitcase while the kidnappers drove away with him.

The four later demanded a €700,000 ransom, but police were able to trace the kidnappers to a dormitory in Hvidovre using the telephone calling card the kidnappers had used to place the call to demand the ransom.

The child was later freed by police SWAT teams, dressed as carpenters, after 26 hours in captivity.

During court testimony, the kidnappers, aged between 24 and 30, cited gambling debts as the motive for the kidnapping.

Due to his age, Oliver was not required to testify in court, but in a taped interview with a police officer entered as evidence, he described how the ‘thieves’ took him from his mother.

‘They were really fast,’ he said, adding that ‘Mummy hit the thieves back.’

The four are facing up to 12 years in prison. A sentence is expected to be handed down later today.

Hundreds of convicted criminals become fugitives from justice in an attempt to avoid their prison sentences. The newspaper Keskisuomalainen reports that nearly 600 convicts have not shown up to serve their prison sentences.

The Criminal Sanctions Agency’s chief inspector Raili Matinpuro says that most fugitives are caught within a few weeks or months.

The percentage of convicts who attempt to evade their prison sentences is still very low. In 2007, for example, nearly 12,500 prison sentences were handed down.

[Comment from Tuan Jim: Socialists — always know what’s best for the country. Never a bad time for a strike in France.]

PARIS (Reuters) — France’s Socialist party called a no confidence motion against the government’s economic policies on Tuesday, looking to pile pressure on President Nicolas Sarkozy ahead of a national strike later this week.

It was only the second such vote since Sarkozy took power in 2007, and although his parliamentary allies easily defeated the motion, the debate enabled the opposition to shine a spotlight on the government’s record at a time of economic slowdown.

Unions will pick up the baton on Thursday with nationwide protests likely to bring hundreds of thousands of strikers onto the streets to demand more action to protect jobs and wages.

“Do you hear the anger that’s growing in the country? It will be there for everyone to see on Thursday,” said Socialist parliamentary party leader Jean-Marc Ayrault.

Sarkozy last year unveiled a 26-billion-euro (24 billion pound) stimulus plan that focussed heavily on encouraging investment. Unions and Socialists say not enough is being done to help the consumer and warn of a backlash if more aid is not provided.

Ayrault said France should copy U.S. President Barack Obama’s plans for massive tax cuts to boost consumer spending. “Sooner or later… you will have to present a second stimulus plan,” he told stony-faced government ranks.

Ministers are clearly concerned about the possibility of social unrest in a country where street protests have regularly built unstoppable momentum, forcing governments into retreat.

Earlier this month, unions staged a wildcat strike at a major Paris commuter station, closing it for most of the day and sending social tensions spiralling higher.

Although France does not face the sort of banking woes that have hobbled countries such as Britain and Ireland, its unemployment rate rose steadily in the second half of 2008, hitting 2.07 million in November, up 8.5 percent on the year.

Prime Minister Francois Fillon dismissed Socialist calls to try to inflate consumer spending and accused the left of trying to paper over its own divisions by attacking the government.

Sarkozy riled the left last July when he said “these days, when there is a strike, nobody notices,” but soon afterwards the economy hit turbulence tied to the financial meltdown and labour relations deteriorated.

His ministers are being less provocative ahead of Thursday’s strike, which has the backing of France’s eight main unions and the support of 69 percent of voters, according to opinion polls.

“I’m not shocked that there are going to be rallies. Why is that a surprise? We are in a very difficult situation,” said Labour Minister Brice Hortefeux.

Public transport strikes have been called in 77 French cities on Thursday, including Paris, with stoppages also expected to hit air travel, banks, hospitals, schools, power companies and the legal system.

“Those who think there is no longer a union movement here are going to see that isn’t the case,” said Bernard Thibault, head of the powerful CGT union.

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, JANUARY 26 — The overriding concern, particularly amongst the Palestinians and Egyptians, is ‘‘to not create the conditions for a new Hamas government’’ in the Gaza Strip. The Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini made the statement this morning from Brussels, immediately before a meeting of European Union foreign ministers which will examine the crisis in the Middle East amongst other items on the agenda. Referring to discussions which took place during dinner last night amongst the EU foreign ministers and Egyptian, Jordanian, Turkish and National Palestinian Authority (NPA) ministers, Frattini explained that the three points of the Italian proposal over the crisis in Gaza ‘‘had become part of the document’’ which the meeting in Brussels is expected to pass today. European ministers, Frattini reported, were all in agreement on the necessity of ‘‘letting the Egyptians do their work’’, particularly over the difficult matter of reconciliation amongst the Palestinian people. A reconciliation which, naturally, bears certain fixed points for Europe: a single state, a government in Gaza is not an option, and the Strip should return under the control of the PNA. The problem remains over who will manage the reconstruction work in Gaza: Frattini believes that his idea that it should be agencies from the UN and the NPA to manage the reconstruction will be shared and adopted in the conclusion. According to the head of the Farnesina, moreover, such an important task cannot be left to ‘‘generic NGOs which could have links to Hamas’’. Egyptian ‘‘doubts’’ remain however over the maritime patrols designed to prevent arms trafficking towards the Strip. The Egyptians, Frattini reported, are in effect requesting more time to ascertain the real source of the weapons since they argue that the route is not a Mediterranean one ‘‘but one which passes through Africa’’. The Foreign Minister will also confirm today in Brussels Italy’s availability to participate both in a new version of the ‘‘EUBAN mission’’ and a patrolling mission of the waters. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — GAZA, JANUARY 26 — The European Development Commissioner, Belgium’s Louis Michel, in a visit to the Gaza Strip, today excluded any dialogue between the EU and Hamas, including in the future, at least until Hamas recognises the right for Israel to exist. He also branded the radical Islamic movement in power in Gaza a “terrorist organisation which kills innocent civilians”. Michel, in Gaza just over a week after the end of Israel’s military operation for a humanitarian mission which does not include meetings with Hamas leaders, said that the Islamic movement represents “an element of division within the Palestinian population. We cannot confuse their methods with resistance”, because launching rockets against civilians “is terrorism”. The Commissioner, who is known for having criticised Israel in the past, also described Hamas’ responsibility in triggering the recent war as “unquestionable”, saying however that Israel’s military reaction was disproportionate. After his visit to Gaza, Michel is expected in Sderot, the southern Israeli city close to the border with Gaza which has been most hit by rockets launched by Palestinian militants in recent years.(ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, JANUARY 26 — During a visit to the Middle East, Louis Michel, EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner announced that the European Commission has allocated 58 million euro in humanitarian aid for the Palestinian populations. About 32 million euro will be used to face “the dramatic humanitarian situation in Gaza,” 20 million to assist the population in the West Bank, and 6 million will go to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. “To see the catastrophic situation in Gaza with my own eyes showed me the urgency to increase humanitarian aid, the civilian population is facing unprecedented suffering, and aid is vital for their survival more than before”, said Commissioner Michel. (ANSAmed)

The chairwoman of Helsinki’s City Board, Suvi Rihtniemi (Nat. Coalition Party) says that there was general agreement on Monday that the city must set up more places for asylum seekers coming to Finland. The matter was left on the table. “Some confusion was caused on the City Board by reports that the reception centre in Kyläsaari would be shut down. The present facilities are in poor condition, in the view of the Department of Social services”, Rihtniemi says. A report on the matter will be drawn up on Monday.

The City Board has held discussions with state representatives on the possibility of making changes to the contract it has with the state on placing asylum seekers. The agreement means that housing needs to be arranged for 400 more asylum seekers than the city can accommodate at present. Helsinki currently has two reception centres. There is room for 233 asylum seekers in Kyläsaari, and 46 in Metsälä. If more asylum seekers come to Helsinki, more facilities will have to be established in Helsinki or elsewhere in the Helsinki region.

The City Board did not discuss the question of where the new reception centres would be set up. The Social Services Department has discussed the possibility of using two hotels to house the asylum seekers. The Marttahotelli on Uudemnaankatu, which has closed down as a hotel, and the Hotel Fenno on Kaarlenkatu, which will close down as a hotel in a few months, could be quickly taken into use for the purpose.

The National Coalition Party says that the hotels could be used temporarily as reception centres, and that the city should investigate other options as permanent locations. Jarmo Räihä, a leading expert at the Social Services Department, nevertheless sees the hotels as the only option, for all practical purposes, if the space is to be rapidly made available for housing the asylum seekers. The city owns a former mental hospital in Röykkä in Nurmijärvi, north of the city, which has been disused for more than ten years. “Turning it into a reception centre would require a massive and time-consuming renovation”, Räihä says. He will not give an opinion as to whether or not the remote location of the hospital would be appropriate for this purpose in other respects.

Rome, 26 Jan. (AKI) — Conservative Italian MP and president of Italy’s Association of Moroccan Women, Souad Sbai, lauded the European Union’s decision on Monday to remove an Iranian opposition movement from its terror blacklist

“I learn with immense happiness of the decision by the EU to remove the Iranian resistance movement, ‘People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran’, from the list of terror organisations,” said Sbai (photo) in a statement to the media.

Sbai, who is now an MP for the ruling conservative People of Freedom party, said she felt happy for the people of Iran, which she claims is ‘close’ to the resistance movement.

“Above all, we are in a dramatic moment in the life of the Iranian people, who feel very close to this movement and their struggle.

“Let’s not forget that only two days ago, 22 people were killed in Iran and many others are executed by hanging because they are convicted by the Tehran regime,” she said.

Sbai also praised the EU’s decision to de-list the PMOI because it will signify a step forward for women’s rights in Iran.

The decision “will allow them (the PMOI) to continue their struggle for civilisation, democracy and freedom, in particular for Muslim women that live the drama of obscurantist fanaticism in Iran.”

Sbai also launched an appeal to Italian politicians to help the PMOI in its struggle, and in particular for the students “who fight everyday for the freedom of women that live in the hell of obscurantism.”

The EU on Monday also decided to unfreeze the PMOI’s assets. It is the first time an organisation has been de-listed as terrorist organisation by the group of 27 nations.

The PMOI was founded in 1965 with the aim of overthrowing Iran’s Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Its leader Maryam Rajavi has allegedly operated an armed group inside Iran, called the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

The group says that it renounced violence in 2001.

Rajavi visited various European countries in 2008 to lobby for the group to be taken off the EU’s terrorist blacklist and have its funds released.

LUCCA — Goodbye to North African couscous, Indian chicken curries and papaya salads from Togo. It’s Italian food only from now on. Or rather, strictly Luccan fare, such as spelt soup, chestnut flour cake, torta co’ becchi cake and other Tuscan delights. Should any restaurateurs be so adventurous as to present a menu based on non-Italian cuisine, they are warmly invited to include “at least one typical Luccan dish, prepared exclusively from products generally acknowledged as being typical of the province”. Challenging globalisation, and perhaps also the freedom of the kitchen, Lucca’s executive council, led by the People of Freedom with the backing of a civic list, approved a new by-law for clubs, bars and restaurants that is unlikely to go unobserved. The new regulations, from which the Democratic Party (PD) and Communist Refoundation (PRC) opposition parties distanced themselves, draws a very firm line to stop ethnic restaurants from opening in the Lucca’s historic centre.

The area concerned lies within the city’s splendid, four-kilometre long walls, which are still intact today. The regulation is hard to misinterpret: “It is not permitted to open commercial premises serving food and drink whose business is related to other ethnic groups”. PD councillor Alessandro Tambellini immediately denounced the ban as “discriminatory”, accusing the executive council of “opting to slam the door on other cultures, replacing the logic of dialogue with that of refusal”. He went on: “The reference to ethnic groups is ill-chosen, to say the least. What does it mean? Are French and German cooking OK, because they have the same roots as ours, but not Indian, Chinese or Arab food? The regional authority agrees: Councillor Paolo Cocchi said: “We are against veiled forms of gastronomic racism”. “What racism? Our sole aim is to safeguard the historic heritage of the city centre”, countered Lucca’s astonished executive councillors angrily.

Councillor Filippo Candelise explained: “The by-law dates from a resolution passed in 2000, which we have updated”. He added: “The ban also includes shops selling pizzas by the slice, McDonald’s, other fast food outlets and sex shops. It will not affect existing commercial premises”. But there’s still that reference to ethnic groups. “I realise it might give rise to misunderstanding but you have to bear in mind that 8,000 people live within the city walls and there are already five kebab shops”. Benedetto Stefani, president of restaurateurs belonging to the ASCOM retailers’ association, takes the council’s side: “It’s not a crusade, just a desire to safeguard the specific nature of our cuisine, which is threatened by recent liberalisations in the sector”. Regulations also lay down that waiters “should have a knowledge of the English language”. What’s the English for “bruschetta”?

More and more Swedes are being detained abroad on suspicions of involvement in terrorism, Sweden’s foreign ministry reports.

Currently, nine Swedish citizens suspected or convicted of terrorism are being held in other countries.

“In recent years, we’ve seen an increase in a variety of such crimes. It most often involves a deprivation of liberty but can also involve information about people who’ve been killed in an area where terrorism is being fought or information about the finding of a Swedish passport in such an area,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs consular section deputy director Helmer Broberg to Sveriges Radio (SR).

Broberg believes the increase is a reflection of the fact that more resources are being devoted globally to fight terrorism.

He added that terrorism cases are harder to work with compared to other cases because secrecy can make it hard for the foreign ministry to get information.

Of the nine Swedes being held, three have been convicted of terror-related crimes.

(AGI) — Rome, 13 Nov. — For weeks he started his speeches in Parliament addressing Silvio Berlusconi, who was not present, as “mister president who is not here”. Today Antonio De Pietro talked again, causing an uproar in the opposition, where Leoluca Orlando had compared the premier to an Argentinean dictator. “Dear president Videla…” were the first words of the leader of the IDV party, a few minutes after the election of Villari as president of the Rai Vigilance Commission, for which the IDV spokesman was candidate.

A Scottish group is hosting what it claims to be a Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration on Sunday along with a Hamas supporter who justifies suicide bombings.

The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, an anti-Israel fringe group, is hosting an event titled “Resistance to Genocide and Ethnic Cleaning: from Europe in the 1940s to the Middle East Today” to mark the UK’s Holocaust Memorial Day.

Speaking at the event, to be held at the University of Glasgow and a Scottish Arts Council and National Lottery-funded venue in Edinburgh called Out of the Blue, is Azzam Tamimi, a Hamas supporter who calls for the destruction of Israel.

Ben Helfgott, the only member of his family to survive the Shoah, said he was appalled by the decision to mix politics with the Holocaust.

“This is a day for people to understand what people are capable of doing to people and learn the lessons of history,” Helfgott told The Jerusalem Post. “Holocaust Memorial Day is recognized by the government and shows above anything else that it has nothing to do with politics.”

The NGO was “taking advantage to try to push a sinister agenda,” he said. “This is wrong. Instead they should recognize what happened to whole Jewish communities across Europe, which were completely annihilated.”…

(ANSAmed) — MADRID, JANUARY 22 — The myth of the Spanish siesta has crumbled, the traditional post-lunch snooze which has now become just a tourist attraction. Only 16% of the population continues to indulge in this healthy habit, according to a survey conducted by the Foundation of Health Education of the San Carlos di Barcellona hospital and the Spanish Bed Association, (Assocama) on 3,000 over 18 years old. What’s more, out of the few lucky enough to be able to, only 27% actually get under the covers for their afternoon siesta, while 72% take a short nap on the sofa. The survey shows that 58.6% of Spaniards never take a siesta, 22% only sometimes, and 3.2% only after lunch at weekends. The post-prandial nap is taken mainly by men over 45, even though it is women in general who have greater difficulty in sleeping, including at night. Of course, of the factors which affect quality of sleep, 75% of those questioned blamed stress, followed by the heat or an uncomfortable mattress. It emerges that 5.4% of the population suffers from insomnia; those who have no problem sleeping, sleep on average seven hours per night, rising to eight and a half hours among the youngest surveyed. (ANSAmed).

How many times in recent years have we heard that Europe is so far ahead of us, so multicultural, so sophisticated, so you know—advanced! Even Barack Hussein Obama while running for President made his pilgrimage to the great region of diversity and enlightenment sending a message back home that we knuckle-draggers needed to follow Europe’s lead.

Now, besides Judy’s news this morning that immigrants in France will be DNA tested we have news from Spain which I found appalling, shocking, depresssing. Will we follow Europe’s lead now?

From the Wall Street Journal a couple of days ago, as the economy crumbles, Spaniards are now doing the work immigrants used to do…

[Comment from Tuan Jim: Maybe Sweden’s a neutral country in most conflicts — but for a modern European military — that’s just sad. Even funnier that they want to continue being a major arms producer (criticizing other Euros for not wanting to buy their Gripen fighters) — but their military can barely support any on their own.]

Government policies will result in Sweden’s army being reduced by one third and the number of tanks being cut in half, Armed Forces Supreme Commander Håkan Syrén is set to announce on Friday.

Advance word about the massive cuts comes from a report in the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper, citing sources within military headquarters.

A government directive to the Supreme Commander from November confirms that the military budget will be frozen at 38.9 billion kronor ($4.9 billion) per year through 2014.

But at the same time must every unit within the military’s operational forces be able to deploy more rapidly.

On Friday, the Supreme Commander will respond that the new requirements will mean dissolving operational units and a reduction in vital weapons systems, say several military headquarters sources to SvD.

The army will be hit the hardest.

“There will be a 30 percent reduction of ground forces units,” once source told the newspaper.

The number of soldiers and officers deployable for combat will be cut to 12,500, down from the current level of 20,000.

According to SvD, the cuts mean that the army will retain seven tactical battalions and that one battalion will be take from the amphibious corps and instead counted in ground combat forces.

In total, Sweden’s army will be left with eight battalions.

The military is also expected to shed half of its battle tanks. The government has said that tank battle groups should consist of lighter units which can easily be transported. In other words, according to SvD, the request means reducing the number of tanks.

The Danish people’s Party (DF) are set to use a non-governmental majority to help Greenlandic children if Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen does not intervene immediately

Søren Espersen, DF’s spokesman for Greenland, said,’ we are tired of endless discussion. That Greenlandic children are starving is unacceptable. They are Danish citizens who are walking around the streets hungry and going to bed hungry. That is something we will not accept.’

Rapports have concluded that at least 17 percent of school-aged children in Greenland go to school and to bed hungry.

Søren Espersen points out that it was the prime minister, on behalf of the government, who signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and that it is therefore the prime minister’s responsibility to step in, when the terms of the convention are not upheld.

‘I am not really interested in how the prime minister solves the problem in Greenland,’ said Espersen. ‘It is inconsequential whether he forces the hand of Premier Hans Enoksen or makes a special law, but it is his responsibility, and we expect something to be done about the situation immediately.’

DF will be summoning the prime minister to a meeting on the weekend, where the party will enjoin Prime Minister Rasmussen to find a solution to the problem.

A patient who died after his life support machine was switched off was stable and may have had chance to recover, an inquest heard.

Cancer victim Stephen Ketley, 52, died on May 2 last year, a day after his ventilator was removed by consultant anaesthetist Sean Bennett.

The hearing heard that another consultant anaesthetist, Simon Gower, was so concerned about his colleague’s ‘premature’ withdrawal of treatment he reported the case to both his clinical director and the coroner.

And the court was also told that in a tragic twist, Mr Ketley’s partner had been told to go home — before his ventilator was switched off.

Police investigated Mr Ketley’s death and passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service, which said last December there was insufficient evidence to charge Dr Bennett.

The RSPCA has seized two dogs from their owner after she was accused of feeding them too much.

The Labradors were taken from their home by an inspector from the charity who said they were just going to be weighed.

The organisation has not allowed Marie Davidson, 48, to see her animals, or even told her where they have been kept for the past three months.

The only correspondence she has had from the society has been two letters, both received in the last fortnight — one to say that its investigation is continuing and another detailing its complaints procedure.

The Home Office has been condemned by broadcasting watchdog Ofcom for funding ITV ‘propaganda’ documentaries on Police Community Support Officers.

Beat: Life on the Street, which was supported with £800,000 of funding by the Home Office for its first two series, portrayed PCSOs as dedicated, helpful and an effective means of helping the police.

Ofcom received complaints saying the programmes, made by Twofour, were essentially government “propaganda” and the Home Office’s relationship with the series should have been made clear to viewers.

Ofcom ruled that two series of the programme, shown in October 2006 and January 2008, were in breach of its broadcasting code. It said the show failed to credit the fact that it had been made with Home Office sponsorship clearly enough.

Channel TV, which made the programmes on behalf of ITV, told Ofcom that the Home Office had no influence over the content of the show or its place in the schedule.

It added that the sponsor credits made it clear that the programme had been made with the assistance of government funding. This comprised the visual strapline “Let’s Keep Crime Down — In Association with Beat: Life on the Street” and the Home Office logo being displayed on-screen for around three seconds.

The regulator accepted there was no evidence to suggest that the Home Office influenced the content of the programme in a way that would compromise the independence of the broadcaster.

But it ruled that the overriding tone of the programmes was supportive and likely to leave viewers with a “favourable impression” of the PCSO service.

Ofcom highlighted several clips in the series. In one, viewers are told: “Throughout Britain there are communities where the opportunity for peaceful civilised life are jeopardised by an anti-social minority. It’s the job of neighbourhood police teams to respond to public needs and work with other agencies to make our communities safer and better places to live…”

Later it continues: “The PCSOs are a fully salaried part of the police force with a special remit to show a high presence in the community. They have to try and reason with some of the most unreasonable on our streets, offer a shoulder to cry on at moments of stress and be on hand to defuse explosive situations”.

The regulator also ruled that the credits, including “Let’s Keep Crime Down” and “Keep It Safe, Keep it Hidden”, did not tell viewers who the sponsor was clearly enough.

It said the Home Office’s role and relationship with the series, as its sponsor, was not made sufficiently clear.

The regulator stated: “While a small, inconspicuous Home Office logo was displayed in the top right hand corner of the screen for a very brief period at the end of the sponsor credits, Ofcom considered that the sponsorship arrangement was not made transparent since the size of its text and the brevity of the logo’s appearance on screen meant it was likely to have been missed by viewers.”

It was disclosed last year that the Government has spent almost £2 million of taxpayers’ money to fund television documentaries, commissioned by ministers with the purpose of showing their policies or activities in a sympathetic light.

Don Foster, Liberal Democrat Shadow Culture, Media and Sport Secretary said: “It’s an absolute disgrace that the Government thinks it can get away with funding TV programmes which essentially amount to propaganda.

“A fundamental review is needed into the whole issue of using public money to fund programmes.”

A Home Office spokesman said:”We acted in good faith and are disappointed that Ofcom believe that we were not transparent with our sponsorship and that the product was too closely associated with the sponsor.

“On behalf of Government, the Central Office of Information (COI) has requested a meeting with Ofcom to seek further advice and clarification regarding the regulations and determine the best way forward for the public sector.”

(ANSAmed) — NAPLES, JANUARY 26 — An agreement for the creation of an Energy Hub has been signed in Tirana. The contract for the creation of the project, worth 1 billion euros, was signed by the Albanian Minister for Economy, Commerce and Energy, Genc Ruli, and the Representative of the “Marsiglia” Group, Giuseppe Lagrotta, in the presence of Prime Minister Sali Berisha and the Italian Ambassador in Albania, Saba D’Elia. Lagrotta explained that the project entails the construction of a Bio-Mass Plant in the Municipality of Shengjin, managed by Albanian Grern Energy Shpk, with a 140MW capacity and an investment of 150 million euros. At the same time, 2 wind farms will be built in the Municipality of Balldren, managed by Biopower Green Energy Shpk, with a capacity of 234MW and which will entail an investment of 300 million euro. Lagrotta also highlighted the fact that the project will be completed with an inter-connection, involving high tension networks between Italy and Albania, with the installation of High-Voltage Direct Current underwater cables, a DC/AC converter station in Italy, and two converter stations near the Municipality of Kallmet/Kolsh. The inter-connection operation will cost 600 million euro. The Italian ambassador in Tirana, Saba D’Elia, expressed his great satisfaction at the economic progress achieved in energy cooperation projects between Albania and Italy, which has led to the creation of projects worth over 3.5 billion euro. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, JANUARY 26 — An exhibition of designs by Lebanese school students has been opened in rooms within the Italian embassy in Beirut, as part of the 2008 edition of the Fabriano competition on the theme of “Soldiers of Peace”. The show, which was organised in collaboration with the Italo-Lebanese Cultural Association and the Fabriano Centro d’Arte (Art centre), was opened in the presence of the Italian ambassador to Lebanon, Gabriele Checchia, the Italian General Claudio Graziano, chief commander of UNIFIL, the UN mission in Southern Lebanon, and the Lebanese Education Minister, Bahia Hariri. “These beautiful designs bear a strong message of hope in a future of peace and fruitful coexistence”, Ambassador Checchia said. The Fabriano design competition was thought up in Lebanon in 1965 by Raymond Nahhas, the president of the Italo-Lebanese Cultural Association, and a long-time representative of one of the most exciting events for students in Lebanese schools. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — ALGIERS, JANUARY 26 — According to Algeria’s national IT and customs statistics centre (Cnis), total imports of cereals, milk and medicines to the country has grown 75% in a year, from 4.49 billion dollars 2007 to 7.82 billion in 2008. The growth is mainly due to the big increase in the price of raw materials — in particular cereal crops — on international markets last year. The total value of imports of cereals, bran and flour doubled from 1.98 billion dollars in 2007 to 3.98 billion in 2008, whilst the value of milk (and derived products) imports grew by 21.72%, from 1.06 billion dollars in 2007 to 1.29 billion in 2008. Algeria consumes 3.5 billion litres of milk per year, whilst it produces just 2.2 billion. As for medicines, the total bill for 2008 came to 1.85 billion dollars as compared to 1.44 billion last year (+27.86%). (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — TRIPOLI, JANUARY 26 — A new report on the residential real estate situation in Tripoli for 2009 has outlined a profoundly changed situation compared to the past few years. The report shows that the city, with its 19 urban districts, has changed its real estate situation radically, and describes 25 large scale projects that are already underway or will be executed in the upcoming years. Most of the work is concentrated in an area that is becoming the city’s economic district, around Corinthia Bab Africa, the only 5 star hotel in the city. The companies that are moving forward with these projects, including the construction of offices and skyscrapers, come from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Great Britain, Bahrain, and Malta. The report also reflects that there is an increasing number of foreign investors forming joint ventures with Libyan companies and stock options for foreign companies are around 65pct of profits. Also, large scale incentives have been offered to investors, including tax exemptions for 5 years and reduced tariffs on imports. There are still obstacles like the fact that foreigners, excluding rare exceptions, cannot buy land in Libya. The report highlights a changing city, and Tripoli appears to be a real economic and administrative centre with a strategic position on the Mediterranean and an interesting future. (ANSAmed)

(ANSAmed) — CAIRO, JANUARY 26 — Hamas’s spokesman in Cairo, Ayman Taha, has revealed that the release of the Israeli soldier captured by the extremist movement in 2006, Gilad Shalit, is not part of the negotiations taking place between the extremist movement and the head of the Israeli secret services, Omar Suleiman. Even despite the fact that the Israeli envoy, Amos Gilad, brought the problem up during his meetings. Taha said that Suleiman actually refused to discuss the subject, which “is separate and should be talked about in the context of exchanging prisoners”. He added that “Hamas will not allow the Shalit issue to be exploited in negotiations for a truce and the lifting of the Gaza blockade”. The spokesman reiterated that the movement has proposed the use of international observers, and Turkish and Palestine National Authority (PNA) forces along the border so as to assure the opening of the Rafah pass, between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. The Rafah pass is seen by Hamas as the most important crossing point to the Strip and has said that security forces should remain “until the formation of a unitary government, but Egypt has not reacted to this proposal at all”. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — TEHRAN, JANUARY 26- According to Iranian press agency Ars, five Iranian members of Parliament will depart for the Gaza Strip where they will meet with Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh and will make initial estimates on the damage by the Israeli offensive in view of an Iranian reconstruction intervention. These 5 representatives are the first patrol of the Iranian legislative assembly. One member, Mahmud Ahmadi, said that 231 representatives in Parliament have expressed the intention of going to Gaza. The Foreign Minister is trying to obtain the necessary visas from Egypt, from where they will have to enter into Gaza, for them. Together with Syria, Iran is the main sponsor and supporter of Hamas. (ANSAmed)

(ANSAmed) — TEL AVIV, JANUARY 26 — The war conducted by Israel in the Gaza strip in recent weeks represents “a turning-point which Barack Obama’s new American adminstration can use to try and “change reality” in the Middle East and relaunch the peace process, said Tzipi Livni, Israel’s Foreign Minister, meeting US Ambassador James Cunningham on the eve of Washington’s new emissary George Mitchell’s arrival in the region. Operation ‘Cast Lead’, said Livni “can and must serve as a turning-point, not only to re-establish calm between the populations of the south (of Israel), but also to reinforce the regional peace process with both Israel and the United States are trying to move forward”. In her opinion, the military action “has created a strategic change in the status of Hamas and other extremist factions and can serve as a stimulus for the new (American) administration and the whole international community to change reality”. Livni, who said in recent days that she is in favour of fresh attacks on the tunnels dug at the border between the Strip and Egypt following signs that arms trafficking for Hamas has started again, on the other hand denied that “the situation will return to the previous status quo”. She also stressed that Israel maintains that “we must take advantage of the weakening of Hamas to work together to create an opportunity for consolidating the moderate forces in the region”. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, JANUARY 26 — Human Rights and Freedoms Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH) has found Turkish families to sponsor 1,200 out of 1,500 Palestinian children who lost their parents during the Israeli offensive against Gaza, daily Today’s Zaman wrote. “We launched a campaign to find sponsor families for Palestinian children who were left orphan during the Gaza conflict and we have already found families for 1,200 children”, Veysel Tepeli, chairman of the Humanitarian Aid Association based in southern Turkish province of Adana, said. “We are still searching for families to support those children by sending nearly USD 42 each month for a period of at least six months”, Tepeli added. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — ANCONA, JANUARY 26 — “We greatly appreciate the concern and efforts of Minister Frattini in his search for stability”, said delegate general of the Palestinian National Authority in Rome, Sabri Ateyeh, at a public initiative in Ancona, responding to journalists’ questions about the proposal for the crisis in Gaza put forward yesterday by Frattini. “We want Europe to take on a role of political responsibility. Not just in reconstruction, because they are financing works which Israel then destroys. In practice they are paying for the destruction that Israel causes. We need the perpetual suffering of the Palestinian people to stop” said the Ambassador, “the last people without independence, and we need the active participation of the international community for this”. (ANSAmed).

TEL AVIV — Contrary to Israel’s claims that it severely damaged the Hamas government in Gaza, the terrorist organization has resumed governing and is acting at about 85 percent capacity, according to both Hamas officials and human rights activists in Gaza.

Washington negotiating agreement that could grant legitimacy to terrorist group

TEL AVIV — An official document being negotiated by the U.S., Israel, Egypt and other players currently grants Hamas a role in patrolling the Gaza Strip’s borders, according to an Egyptian intelligence official familiar with the draft document.

The stated purpose of the future patrols, set to follow Israel’s recent offensive in Gaza, are to ensure against Hamas rearming in the territory.

The document is set to be issued by Egypt, but the U.S., Israel and the European Union are heavily involved in the draft text, which would likely grant legitimacy to Hamas’ role in Gaza. Both the U.S. and EU officially classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.

Hamas’ charter calls for the murder of Jews and destruction of Israel. The group is responsible for scores of suicide bombings, rocket attacks against Jewish population centers, shootings, knifings and cross-border raids.

“There is an understanding of all powers involved that Hamas must play a role, that without Hamas there can be no cross-border agreement,” the Egyptian intelligence official told WND. “So, yes, indirectly the U.S. and Israel admit that Hamas is a player and must be taken into consideration in any political arrangement.

“It will be an Egyptian paper. The U.S. and Israel can then say it’s just Egypt that recognizes Hamas, but this is not true,” the official said.

Tehran, 26 Jan. (AKI) — Iranians protested in the capital, Tehran, on Monday over the European Union’s move to remove Iran’s main opposition group from its blacklist of terrorist organisations, Iran’s official news agency reported. Several hundred people held a demonstration outside the French embassy. “Europe be ashamed of backing hypocrites!” protesters chanted.

Other demonstrators shouted “Death to America!” and “Islam will win, terrorism will lose!”, IRIN reported. The demonstrators fear the ‘People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran’ opposition group could carry out terrorist attacks in Iran.

The EU also moved to unfreeze the PMOI’s assets on Monday.

Meanwhile Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the PMOI in a statement on Monday welcomed its removal from the EU’s list of terrorist organisations and urged compensation from the bloc “for the damages inflicted upon the Iranian people.”

The hardline theocratic regime in Tehran should be placed on the EU’s terrorism blacklist, Rajavi said.

She urged the 27-nation bloc to impose comprehensive sanctions against Iran and “refer the appalling dossier of human rights violations of the regime to the UN Security Council for immediate and binding measures.”

The PMOI’s seven-year legal and political battle to be de-listed as a terrorist organisation by the EU was “an integral part of combating religious fascism and for the establishment of democracy in Iran,” she said.

The PMOI was founded in 1965 with the aim of overthrowing Iran’s Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi. Rajavi has allegedly operated an armed group inside Iran, called the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

The group says that it renounced violence in 2001.

The Iranian government refers to the PMOI as Monafiqeen-e-Khalq (MKO) meaning “hypocrites of the people.”

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, JANUARY 22 — In an atmosphere of reconciliation, the Druse anti-Syrian Lebanese leader, Walid Jumblat, and Mohammed Raad, a high-ranking Hezbollah officer, the Shiite movement which is supported by Syria and Iran, have met for the first time since the war in 2006 and following the bloody clashes in the piazza in Beirut and the surrounding area in May last year. The meeting, local press stresses, took place in anticipation of a session of Lebanese “national dialogue” next Monday, which, under the protection of President Michel Suleiman, will need to face up to the question of Hezbollah’s arms. The Shiite movement wants to continue to maintain its weapons stores “to defend Lebanon from Israeli aggression”, whilst Jumblat, along with its Christian allies, wants the arms to be integrated into the Lebanese army. According to the newspaper An Nahar’, the meeting between Jumblat and Raas focused particularly on the need to maintain order in the mixed Drusi-Shiite villages where violence erupted last May following the Hezbollah strikes onto Sunni areas in Beirut. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — BEIRUT, JANUARY 26 — The website of Beirut-based newspaper an-Nahar has reported that two Israeli dolls, with ‘Sweet for You’ and ‘I Love You 2004’ written on them, were dropped by Israeli planes near a village in the south of Lebanon during their practically daily violation of Lebanese airspace this morning. The website clarifies that the two toys were retrieved by inhabitants of Kfeir, which is in the south-western region of Hasbaya, not far from the Shebaa Farms, an area of land occupied by Israel since 1967 and which has been contested by Syria and Lebanon for decades. The Israeli planes, reports the official NNA agency, entered Lebanese airspace at the coastal area of Naqura, and then headed east. At this point, according to an-Nahar, they are through to have dropped numerous balloons with the dolls attached to them. The two dolls, concludes the website, were immediately confiscated by forensic police, who are now examining them to make sure that they do not contain explosive or poisonous material. (ANSAmed).

Dubai, 26 Jan. (AKI) — An Al-Qaeda operative and former Guantanamo detainee has attacked the Lebanese Shia movement, Hezbollah, for failing to defend Palestinians from Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. In a video released on the internet, Abu Hureira Qasim al-Rimi directed his attack against Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

“I would like to send a message to Hassan Nasrallah — Answer me, why have you shed all these tears for Gaza and for the people of Gaza? Didn’t you say that you had warehouses full of 20,000 missiles that could reach Tel-Aviv?” said Abu Hureira Qasim al-Rimi in the 19-minute video message.

Al-Rimi then proceeded to attack Hezbollah for failing to help Gazans during the recent three-week long Israeli offensive that began on 27 December.

More than 1,330 Palestinians were killed and another 5,000 were injured during Operation Cast Lead. Thirteen Israelis were killed during the conflict.

“Didn’t our brothers in Gaza deserve you launching, in their defence, one thousand, two thousand or three thousand rockets instead of these tears? “ he said.

“Is Lebanese land more valuable than the blood of the Palestinians? What is the difference between you and (Egyptian president) Hosni Mubarak who protects the Jews?,” said al-Rimi.

“Our community must know the truth about these facts and understand who is ‘selling’ our cause.”

In the video, al-Rimi appears next to the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula Abu Basir al-Naser al-Wahshi.

The video, entitled “From here we begin and we will meet each other at the al-Aqsa mosque,” refers to Islam’s third holiest site, located in Jerusalem.

(ANSAmed) — ANKARA, JANUARY 26 — The Supreme Court of Appeals overruled an Istanbul local court’s decision to close down LambaIstanbul, a gay rights organization, stating that the Ngo was not against social ethics, Hurriyet Daily reported. Last May the local court decided to close the organization on the basis it was against Turkish moral values. The local court will hear the case one more time and if insists upon its decision, the General Committee of the Supreme Court will examine the case again. Amnesty International, which started a campaign to support LambaIstanbul, has welcomed the decision. “This represents a very important step to prevent discrimination and provide freedom of organization”, Andrew Gardner, an Amnesty International researcher working on Turkey, said, adding that “The decision is a message to authorities not to impede the legal work of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual and transgender organizations, (LGBTT)”. The LGBTT Rights Platform, consisting of various LGBTT organizations in Turkey, was, however, critical against the Supreme Court’s verdict, despite welcoming the decision. “The Supreme Court of Appeal’s decision is in line with the definition of ‘public morality’,” the organization said. (ANSAmed).

Istanbul, 26 Jan. (AKI) — A union leader was charged in an Istanbul court on Monday bringing to 18 the number of new suspects accused of planning a military coup against the Turkish government. Turkish media reports said that the 18 were among 26 people detained by police around the country as part of the controversial Ergenekon investigation.

They also searched the offices of a private TV channel and a union in the capital Ankara.

Turkish Metal Union chairman Mustafa Ozbek, seven military officers and ten police officers were charged by the court, while the other eight, including Turkish union executives, were released without charge.

Meanwhile three other suspects who had been held under arrest for nearly a year as part of the Ergenekon investigation were released by the Istanbul High Crime Court on Saturday.

A poll released on Monday showed that close to half the Turkish nation believes that Ergenekon was established to overthrow the government through a military coup. But one in five Turks thinks the investigation is simply being used to suppress the opposition.

According to the nationwide poll of 2,400 people, 49.3 percent of respondents identified Ergenekon as a case in which “crime gangs and military coup plotters are trialled”.

The Ergenekon probe is seen as one of the most controversial cases in Turkey’s history. It was launched in 2007 after the discovery of hand grenades in a house in Istanbul.

More than 80 people, including journalists, intellectuals, union leaders, business leaders, army officers, police officers, and retired generals, are charged with forming an illegal, clandestine organisation in a bid to pave the way for a military coup.

The group is accused of terrorist acts in Turkey and of allegedly planning a coup in 2009.

The alleged masterminds behind this coup plot are generals Kemal Yavuz and Tuncer Kilinc. Both were arrested recently.

Muslim leaders are trying to destroy it, and have sued the monastery for alleged proselytism. A spiritual and cultural center for the Syriac Orthodox, it still uses ancient Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus. During the 1960’s, at least 130,000 Syriacs lived in Tur Abdin. Today, there are only 3,000. The minority community hopes that the European Union will come to its defense with an appeal to Ankara.

Ankara (AsiaNews) — Demonstrations are being held in many European countries to save the monastery of Mor Gabriel, a spiritual center for the Syriac Orthodox community in Turkey.

Founded in 397, it is the oldest functioning Christian monastery in the world. It is located on the plateau of Tur Abdin, “The Mountain of the Servants of God,” on the Turkish border with Iraq. The see of the metropolitan archbishop of Tur Abdin, Mor Timotheus Samuel Aktas, with its three monks, 14 nuns, and 35 young people who live and study there, it is a religious and cultural point of reference for all Syriac Orthodox Christians, who still preserve ancient Aramaic, the language of Jesus. Every year it welcomes more than ten thousand tourists and pilgrims, many of them Syriacs of the diaspora in Germany, Switzerland, and Sweden.

Now, however, the future of the monastery and the Christian minority is threatened by a series of lawsuits against the monks and the prestigious religious institution. In August of 2008, the leaders of three Muslim villages around the monastery accused the community of proselytism, for having students to whom they can hand down the Christian faith and the Aramaic language. Their case has not yet been accepted by the Turkish court. But the village leaders are also asking that the monastery’s land be appropriated and divided among the villages; that a wall be knocked down that was built during the 1990’s (when the monastery was on the front of the conflict between the Turkish army and the Kurdish communist party (PKK)). According to the Muslim leaders, there used to be a mosque on the land where the monastery was built. “The accusation is absurd,” says David Gelen, leader of the Aramaic Foundation, “the monastery dates from 397 A.D., about 200 years before the prophet Mohammed and the construction of any mosque whatsoever. And yet the court has considered hearing the case.”

Gelen says that he thinks a “campaign of intimidation” is underway against the religious of the monastery. “Bishop, monks, and nuns,” Gelen continues, “are always threatened in the most direct way possible by the inhabitants of the village, and they do not dare present themselves at trial or defend themselves in some way. So for some time, the monks and nuns have not had the courage to leave the confines of the property.”

“In Turkey,” Gelen explains, “freedom of religious expression is guaranteed by the constitution; but those who are not recognized as a minority do not exist, in practical terms. Now the Syriacs, unlike the Greeks and Armenians, are not recognized as a religious minority, although they have been living there for millennia. The purpose of the threats and the lawsuit seems to be to repress this minority and expel it from Turkey, as if it were a foreign object.”

The Syriac community has high hopes in the European Union, which on February 11 is supposed to address together with the Turkish government the question of religious freedom and human rights for the non-Muslim minorities present in the country. “We hope not only that our rights will be recognized,” David Gelen says, “but we are convinced that for the Turkish state, the time has come to recognize, accept, and protect the cultural multiplicity of the country, instead of fighting it. Turkey must decide whether it wants to preserve a 1,600-year-old culture, or annihilate the last remains of a non-Muslim tradition. What is at stake is the multiculturalism that has always characterized this nation, since the time of the Ottoman Empire.”

Since 1923, when the Turkish state was created, the Syriac Orthodox have been dispersed in four countries: Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran. Yasar Ravi, president of the Syriac Orthodox community of Antioch, notes that the Treaty of Lausanne guaranteed certain essential freedoms for this minority, but “things have gone differently.”

Since that time, there has been a constant exodus of the community toward central and northern Europe, especially Germany (where there are 20,000 Syriacs) and Sweden (70-80,000). In the middle of the 1960’s, there were still about 130,000 of them in Tur Abdin; today there are just 3,000.

“We have no territory, we are scattered throughout the world, but we are very united thanks to our linguistic, social, and cultural identity,” Yasar Ravi continues. “As history teaches us, religion has always had a dominant role in civilization. Ours is without doubt a very religious people, and we are proud of speaking the language of Jesus: the language that, in terms of its diffusion, was essentially the English of the Middle East.

(Adds comments from Georgian and Russian ministries) MOSCOW (AFP)—Russia Tuesday accused Georgia of capturing one of its soldiers in the breakaway region of South Ossetia, in the latest upsurge of tensions between the foes who fought a brief war in August.

Georgia countered that the soldier had asked for asylum due to “unbearable conditions” in the Russian army, but Moscow accused Tbilisi of obtaining this statement by force.

“An initial investigation has shown Alexander Glukhov was captured by Georgian armed forces in the Akhalgori region of South Ossetia and taken to Tbilisi,” a Russian defense ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by the RIA-Novosti and Interfax news agencies.

He said Glukhov was a conscript performing his compulsory military service. The Georgian interior ministry said in a statement in Tbilisi that the soldier had surrendered to Georgian police and requested Georgian citizenship because of “unbearable conditions” in the Russian military.

“Russian soldier Alexander Glukhov, who served in the Akhalgori district, left his post on Jan. 26 because of unbearable conditions in the Russian army and asked the (Georgian) police for help,” it said.

“The soldier said he was serving in unbearable conditions in Akhalgori, with poor food supply and not even minimal sanitary conditions. The soldier wants to stay in Georgia and to ask the president to grant him Georgian citizenship,” Gvenetadze said.

Georgian television channels showed a video of the soldier, appearing tired and disoriented.

He said he had been serving in Akhalgori since Dec. 1 and that “conditions are very bad, there are no baths, it was bad with food, they fed us little.” He added: “That’s why I am asking the president of Georgia to let me stay in Tbilisi.”

The Russian military spokesman, Alexander Drobyshevsky, responded angrily to the video: “This was a media provocation obtained under physical and moral pressure under which anything possible can be obtained.”

The Akhalgori district was seized by Russian forces during the war in August over the rebel South Ossetia region. While it lies within South Ossetia’s Soviet-era borders, Akhalgori was under Tbilisi’s control after the region broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s.

Russia sent troops deep into Georgia in early August to repel a Georgian military attempt to retake South Ossetia, which had received extensive backing from Moscow for years.

A fatwa against those who practice yoga, because this “weakens faith in Islam.” In the crosshairs of the ulemas are also cigarettes — although there is not unanimous agreement on this — and those who abstain from voting. And candidates faithful to Islam should be elected.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) — Practicing yoga, smoking in public places, and abstaining from voting are “activities contrary to the precepts of Islam.” This is the announcement today from the Indonesian ulemas council, during a plenary assembly in Padang Panjang, a city in the province of West Sumatra, attended by 700 religious figures and experts on Islamic law in the country.

As has already been done in Malaysia, the Indonesian ulemas are also prohibiting the practice of yoga for Muslims, because it contains elements characteristic of the Hindu tradition. The Islamic religious authorities reject the “recitation of mantras,” and stress that continuing the practice means “committing a sin” and “weakening faith in Islam.” The decision has already raised criticisms among Indonesian Muslims: yoga is one of the favorite activities among citizens and businessmen to get rid of stress and recover mental and physical balance.

Amid controversy and division, the ulemas have also banned cigarettes from public places. The smoking ban also applies to pregnant women and adolescents. The decision is ostensibly based on “risks to health.” The tobacco industry is an essential resource for the country, and some of the ulemas, especially the ones from areas where cigarette production is concentrated, seem not to appreciate the decision to prohibit smoking.

The third fatwa applies to those who abstain from voting. This is also an important decision because of the political repercussions that it could conceal: elections are scheduled for April, while in July the new Indonesian president will be elected. And for Muslims, it is not possible to vote for candidates who are not faithful to Islam or members of Islamic parties.

Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world: almost 90% of the 234 million Indonesians are believers in Islam. Most of them practice a moderate form of Islam, but fundamentalism is increasing. The recent decisions of the ulemas seem to be an expression of this fundamentalist view.

The New Year was declared a national holiday a few years ago. The Chinese community were targeted under the dictatorship of Suharto. Now even the Indonesians visit Chinese Buddhist temples for the Hew Year.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) — To mark the Year of the Ox, the new lunar year that begins today, Indonesian Post Office Company has issued a series of 4 stamps modelled on Chinese prints of an ox. Indonesia’s philatelist president Abdul Syukur, said it is a “mark of respect to its Chinese cultural heritage”. And it is no small step given that for years the Chinese community in Indonesia was violently persecuted and even in some cases forced to flee the country.

The first Chinese stamps were launched in 2007, but a strong protest arose from Chinese community as they were sceptical that these Chinese style stamps could fuel another series of hatred and violence against the Indonesian of Chinese descent. Tensions between the Chinese ethnic groups (WNI keturunan) and local Indonesians (pribumi) are common because of the economic difference between the two. The majority of Chinese are wealthy; the locals meanwhile are relatively poor.

This is why the Chinese population often became the scapegoat for peoples frustrations. In May 1998, there were revolts, the sacking of shops, homes and even murders born of the jealousy and hate of Indonesians towards the Chinese ethnic group. The violence spread: thousands of Chinese were killed, others barricaded into their homes and stoned; many Chinese women were raped and humiliated in public. Many Chinese family groups decided to flee abroad, while those who remained formed a political group to defend their rights.

Similar episodes and that lasted a far longer period took place in the ‘60’s under the presidency of Suharto (1967 — 1998), the dictator who expropriated the property and rights of Chinese Indonesians and who banned the celebration of the New Lunar Year. Only following his fall, under the leadership of the moderate Muslim Abdurrahman Wahid, was the New Year declared a national holiday, called Imlek. Since then the life of the Chinese communities has greatly improved, so much so that native Indonesians now embrace the celebration and flock to Chinese temples for blessings and to make offerings in Jakarta, Bogor, Lampung, and Cirebon. In the Glodok quarter of the capital, the oldest Chinese e temple in all of Indonesia dedicated to the Buddhist divinity Guanyin (the Buddha of mercy) is found dating back to 1630. To mark the feast of Imlek tens of thousands have visited this shrine in recent days.

TIMIKA, Indonesia (AFP) — Four people were injured Tuesday when Indonesian police opened fire on hundreds of people in Papua province during a protest against alleged police violence.

Officers began shooting when about 300 angry residents armed with homemade guns, machetes and wooden stakes tried to break into a police post in Timika, on the southern coast of the rugged eastern territory, an AFP reporter witnessed.

At least four people were shot in the legs during the clash, in which migrants from the Kei islands in the neighbouring province of Maluku fired homemade guns at police in riot gear.

Hundreds of protesters raged through the city after the shooting. They smashed windows at a journalist’s house before being forced back into their neighbourhood by police.

Protesters threatened the journalist, Husein, with further violence if he reported on the day’s unrest, he told AFP.

The violence was fuelled by anger over the death earlier Tuesday of Timika resident Simor Fader, also from Kei, who was allegedly shot by police on Sunday during a scuffle in a bar.

“Police should investigate this shooting incident,” a protester told AFP.

The country’s highest Islamic authority has come under fire for bans on vote abstention, smoking and yoga.

Indulging in sin?: A man enjoys his cigarette in front of a mirror at a roadside food stall in Jakarta on Sunday. The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) issued several edicts that same day, among others, partially banning smoking and certain aspects of yoga,including religious rituals. JP/J. ADIGUNA

Edicts on the bans were issued by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) during its two-day national meeting in Padangpanjang, West Sumatra, which ended on Sunday.

Some 700 clerics from the council agreed Muslims were forbidden to abstain from voting in elections if “qualified” candidates existed.

“Islam obliges Muslims to elect their leaders if the latter meet certain criteria,” Gusrizal Gazahar, MUI West Sumatra head, said after the meeting.

The criteria include “being Muslim, honest, brilliant and ready to fight for the people”, the council added.

It also forbade smoking by children and pregnant women, and smoking in public places.

Outside these conditions, smoking was still deemed makruh (blameworthy) for Muslims, it said. Muslims are also banned from practicing certain aspects of yoga that contained Hindu elements such as chanting and meditation, it said.

But Muslims can continue to perform yoga for purely health reasons, the council added.

NU deputy head Masdar F. Mas’udi said the MUI should not have dragged religion into the three matters.

Yoga, as it is practiced in Indonesia, he said, was a pastime and must not be seen in the context of religious worship.

To discourage people from smoking, he added, the MUI should not use “Islamic law” as a tool. “What’s important is to inform the public of the bad effects of smoking and urge the government to enforce policies to discourage smoking,” Masdar told The Jakarta Post.

He also said the MUI should “not bring in God and threaten people with hell” if it wanted to encourage Muslims to vote.

Political expert Syamsuddin Haris agreed the MUI should not force people to vote, saying it was their democratic right to vote or not.

“It’s absolutely pointless. A religious body shouldn’t dictate political behavior,” he told tempointeraktif.com, adding the edict would have little impact.

Muslim scholar Azyumardi Azra also slammed the ban on yoga as “excessive” and “counterproductive”.

However, he lauded the edicts against vote abstention and smoking, saying the former was “positive” in strengthening democracy and elected administrations.

Azyumardi, an assistant to Vice President Jusuf Kalla, said the MUI had “compromised” and taken “accommodating” measures to partly forbid smoking, considering the fact the tobacco industry employed so many workers and contributed much to the country’s economy.

MUI edicts issued on Jan. 25, 2009

1.

A ban on aspects of yoga that contain Hindu elements.

2.

A ban on vote abstention if “qualified” candidates exist.

3.

A ban on smoking by children and pregnant women, and in public places.

4.

A ban on abortion unless the mother is a rape victim, the pregnancy endangers her life, or the fetus is aged less than 5 weeks.

5.

A ban on vasectomy because the process is “irreversible”.

6.

A ban on marriage with minors, based on a 1974 law that forbids men under 19 and women under 16 years old from marrying.

An eyewitness to Tuesday’s deadly clash between police and sit-in protesters in Seoul’s Yongsan district said yesterday that the five dead protesters were found under the debris of the collapsed watchtower.

Hwang Yun-gyu, a senior paramedic from the Yongsan branch of the Emergency Medical Services System, told The Dong-A Ilbo that four bodies found at the center of the collapsed tower were covered by scaffolds and steel pipes of the watchtower.

“I was able to recover the bodies long after clearing up the building materials,” he said.

He collected the bodies of the victims and transported them to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation and hospitals.

Hwang added that building materials used to build the tower fell on the head of the other evictee, whose body was discovered with that of SWAT team member Kim Nam-hoon behind the tower.

His testimony contradicts the claim of relatives of the killed evictees that protesters fell off the building in the police crackdown, and that the dead bodies from the fall were carried to the roof to make it look like they were killed due to the tower’s collapse.

“Sergeant Kim’s corpse was found under sacks of rice that protesters brought to the building as food,” Hwang said. “We recovered his body only after digging up the pile of rice for about an hour.”

The autopsy results on the five dead protesters also showed they were not physically attacked before the accident, an institute official said. “The cause of death for all six people was severe burns and carbon monoxide poisoning.”

The autopsy also found that the dead protestors had empty stomachs at the time of the incident, with no signs of alcohol or drug use found.

AN Australian convicted of plotting attacks with al-Qaeda told a Paris court today that a German accused of blowing up a synagogue had been close to Osama bin Laden.

Jack Roche, who pleaded guilty in 2004 to planning with al-Qaeda to attack Israel’s embassy in Canberra and is now free on parole, testified by video link from Perth.

Christian Ganczarski, a German convert to Islam, stands accused of planning a 2002 suicide bombing of a Tunisian synagogue that killed 21 people.

He is on trial in Paris, along with an alleged Tunisian accomplice and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of al-Qaeda’s attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.

Roche told the court that Ganczarski was directly linked to Bin Laden, al-Qaeda’s Saudi-born leader, and used the pseudonym “Abu Mohammed”.

“He obviously had close ties with bin Laden, because he sat next to him and gave him the note Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had given me for him,” Roche, a British-born convert to Islam, told the court.

Roche, dubbed “Jihad Jack” by the Australian media, confessed during his own 2004 trial to travelling to Afghanistan, where he met Bin Laden and received explosives training with the Islamist extremist group.

“He had links too with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed,” said Roche. “I met him in his house in Karachi. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed explained to me that Abu Mohamed was going to escort me to Afghanistan.”

Khalid Seikh Mohammed formerly maintained a hideout in the Pakistani port city of Karachi with links to Al-Qaeda’s bases near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.

“Near Kandahar, one of the sons of bin Laden came to pick us up at a Taliban outpost,” Roche told the court.

“I spent a few days with him. I think he was a go-between between Europe and Afghanistan, and he had computer and radio skills,” he said.

Ganczarski pleaded innocent when he and Sheikh Mohammed went on trial earlier this month for plotting the synagogue bombing, which killed 14 German tourists, five Tunisians and two French nationals.

Sheikh Mohammed is in the US military’s Guantanamo Bay prison and will not attend the French hearings, but Ganczarski and his alleged accomplice Nizar Nawar were in court.

French prosecutors have charged the trio with “complicity in attempted murder in relation to a terrorist enterprise” and they face a maximum sentence of 20 years in jail if convicted of the April 11, 2002 attack.

Talha Gibriel, editor-in-chief in Washington for the Arab world’s first daily newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat, is one of the Sudanese intellectuals who has been most outspoken about the Darfur crisis. An opponent of the central government, for thirty years he has promoted democracy in his homeland. Born in Northern Sudan to a prominent Arab tribe, Gibriel bravely opposed Arab domination over the African people. Recently Gibriel has published various articles in Sudan about the right to self-determination, not only for the people of Darfur, but also for the African and Christian majority in the South and the East of the country.

Dr. Gibriel, Sudan is a country which has suffered several ethnic crises. Could you please explain the main reasons for these conflicts?

Sudan is the “African Yugoslavia.” In my country there are several ethnic groups, religions, and over 200 dialects. Since our Independence in 1956 from the British Empire, Sudan has failed to build national unity; in fact we are not one nation. We have become one country only because the British Empire decided our borders, but the reality on the ground is another one. The other main problem causing conflicts in the country is the lack of democracy. The government in Khartoum thinks that using power will give stability to the country. However, the regime has never taken into consideration that democracy and the use of dialogue could be the solution to the crisis in the Sudan…

YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK: A British ship, scuttled by a German submarine in June 1942, has been discovered on the seabed off the coast of Guyana in South America, the Maritime Bulletin has reported.

The ship was spotted by the American Sub Sea Research Company, which specialises in undersea research and surfacing of valuable remainder of shipwrecks.

The sunken ship has on board treasures worth 2,600 million pounds sterling — gold, platinum, and diamonds. The exact name of the scuttled transport and its present location have not been disclosed. The ship is tentatively referred to as the Blue Baron.

The Maritime Bulletin has said the transport had set out from one of European ports on a voyage to a destination in the United States. The intention was to deliver the valuables to New York and then to the US Treasury as payment for the Lend-Lease.

At first, the Blue Baron had called at a port of one of South American countries and then proceeded on its way to New York. However, at a distance of about 40 miles from the coast of Guyana it had been scuttled by a German U-87 submarine.

Several sides are expected to claim rights to the precious cargo. The transport ship lies on the seabed at a depth of about 250 metres.

ROME (AP) — Italy recalled its ambassador to Brazil on Tuesday in an escalating dispute over Brazil’s decision to grant asylum to an Italian fugitive sentenced to life in prison for political slayings in the 1970s.

The Italian foreign minister said Brazil’s decision this month not to extradite Cesare Battisti, a former member of a radical leftist group, was “unacceptable.”

“We didn’t expect this from Brazil, a country that is a friend,” Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.

The Foreign Ministry said Ambassador Michele Valensise was being called back from the embassy in Brasilia “for consultations” about what to do next.

Battisti, 54, escaped from an Italian prison in 1981 while awaiting trial on four counts of murder, allegedly committed when he was a member of the far-left Armed Proletarians for Communism.

A court convicted him in absentia for the killings of a prison guard and a butcher.

Battisti, who says he is innocent, lived in Mexico before moving to France in 1990 and reinventing himself as a mystery writer. He later went to Brazil, where he was arrested in 2007 based on an Italian warrant.

Brazilian officials said the Jan. 13 decision to grant Battisti refugee status was based on a fear of persecution if he was sent back to Italy. Italy calls him a terrorist who does not deserve refugee status.

“Battisti is a terrorist, he assassinated innocent people, he’s been condemned by Italian courts,” Frattini said told The Associated Press on the sidelines of a meeting in Rome. “The Italian government is exploring all the legal opportunities, for example to go before the Supreme Court of Brazil.”

A study released Monday finds that Germany’s Turks have failed to integrate even after decades in the country. Some newspaper commentators blame the existence of parallel societies, while others argue that Turks are being held to an unfair standard.

A new study finds Turkish-Germans poorly integrated. The question of why Turkish-Germans are poorly integrated into German society is one of those hot-button issues that gets people’s blood boiling here no matter which part of the political spectrum they hail from.

Yesterday’s release of a new studythat underlined the grim present circumstances and future dangers of this trend is just the most recent in a long, long line of events that brings the simmering issue to the fore every few months.

In short, the study by the Berlin Institute for Population and Development found that, even after decades in Germany, immigrants and their children fail to learn German well, perform well in school and find and hold well-paying jobs.

What’s new about the study is that it brings to the debate a statistical “Index for the Measurement of Immigration,” which purports to show in a scientific manner how well — or poorly — an immigrant group is anchored in German society.

But, in effect, what the study really does is ring the bell for another round of the blame game. German newspapers returned to the issue from their well-established political positions.

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

“There are many ways to interpret the new integration study…. The most popular one holds that immigrants from Turkey have only themselves to blame for their plight because they are the ones who don’t want to integrate. In the final calculation, this theory holds, many have already been here for decades, but far too many abandon schools or work agencies without degrees or jobs. So why can’t Turks do what Aussiedler (ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union) have handled with ease?”

Immigration in Germany: How those from Turkey compare “This reproaching view of Turkish immigrants suffers from forgetfulness. All the way into the 1970s, the so-called guest workers were intentionally brought to Germany to be a new underclass that performed the jobs that Germans found too dangerous or too dirty. The majority of them arrived with no degrees and no training; some family members couldn’t even read. Can people seriously expect that the children of these individuals will now populate German universities?… When it comes to successful integration, the Turks should be measured in the same way as other immigrants lacking training or jobs.”

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:

“Perhaps even more significant than the Berlin Institute’s study… is the reaction of (Bekir Alboga) the ‘dialogue delegate’ of the Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DITIB) to the findings. (Alboga) said that, for one thing, ‘it is not possible to scientifically prove’ the obvious shortcomings in the integration of the Turkish-German population and, secondly, that it can be attributed to discrimination in schools. Enough of such excuses. For a long time, it has been adequately documented that the children of immigrants perform more poorly in school than the children of German natives. Nor is there any need to give any more statistical evidence to the fact that immigrants are more frequently unemployed and disproportionately represented in the low-wage sector. A lot is being done in terms of integration policies, especially when it comes to increased support for language training. But while other groups of immigrants have been able to eke out a place for themselves in society despite adverse circumstances, the especially large Turkish population is conspicuous for its lack of integration. Perhaps DITIB should no longer close its eyes to this fact as well.”

The conservative Die Welt writes:

“Not even a day went by before the results of the integration study… were already fragmented into the usual readings depending on the political leanings or lobby affiliations of the observer. At the same time, it cannot seriously surprise anyone that Turkish-Germans were by far the most poorly integrated immigrant ethnic group. And it is no more surprising that the Essen Center for Turkish Studies should come out with the same old reassuring formulas, such as the one that warns that ‘integration competition between various population groups’ can ‘poison’ peaceful co-existence….”

“But whoever believes that people should be shielded from too much pressure to integrate is not doing anyone any favors — and particularly not for Turkish dropouts, whose numbers are five times the national average.”

“Part of the problem — and not part of the solution — is once again the kind of things heard from the ‘dialogue delegate’ of the Cologne-based mosque association DITIB. For example, the delegate claims the results of the integration study are not scientifically tenable, and he rather imaginatively claims that there is ‘hardly any line of work that is not represented by very exemplary Turkish-German individuals. Are we supposed to gather from this that everything is fine in the mosques and that there is no more need to discuss these troubling study results?”

“Much more helpful and touching upon the crux of the problem is what Dieter Wiefelspütz, the domestic policy spokesman for the Social Democrats, brings to the debate. He speaks of the necessity of having ‘catch-up integration’ and, in doing so, gets much closer to the reality — particularly of those in school — than immigrant interest groups do. For this reason, at least with this target group, broadening the authority of communal immigrant advisory councils… might be attractive to voters. But it won’t accomplish anything as long as these councils continue to shield their constituents from being held to account.”

The left-leaning Die Tageszeitung writes:

“Integration has two sides. The behavior of the societal majority must also be examined. Just attributing all the failings to immigrants is not enough. That is what the Wolfgang Schäubles and the Maria Böhmers (Germany’s interior minister and commissioner for integration, respectively) do when they continue to demand that Turkish-Germans learn German, do more to help educate their children and not allow forced marriages. However correct these appeals might be, the state also needs to do something — and provide the necessary funding as well. Where are the social workers who look after students at risk? Where are the kindergarten teachers who try to teach good German to all the toddlers? And where are the help centers and women’s shelters that can assist Turkish women in danger?… The plans are all there. But what is missing in these times of financial crisis is money — and political will.”

Lampedusa, 26 Jan. (AKI) — A priest on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, which locals fear is being turned into the ‘Alcatraz of the Mediterranean’ by government plans to detain more illegal immigrants there, has appealed to Pope Benedict XVI for help.

“I am appealing to the Pope to speak clearly on the phenomenon of immigration which not only affects Lampedusa,”said Stefano Nastasi, parish priest of San Gerlando.

“I invite Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to come down to Lampedusa and have a beer with me and the illegal immigrants here,” Nastasi said.

“That way he can see for himself the situation in which we are living on this island.”

Lampedusa’s mayor Bernardino De Rubeis on Monday also appealed to the pontiff for help in solving the problem at the island’s chronically overcrowded immigration centre.

As many as 1,318 illegal migrants are currently packed into buildings designed to accommodate 850. At times the centre has held nearly 2,000 people.

“The situation is unsustainable. This is why I am appealing to the Pope. We hope that he at least will be able to solve this enormous problem.

“Lampedusa has become a militarised island whose streets are full of police and paramilitary police vehicles,” he said.

The United Nations refugee agency last week expressed serious concern at overcrowding on Lampedusa’s detention centre which is forcing many detainees to sleep outdoors in rubbish-strewn ‘tent cities’. UNHCR urged Rome to address what it called the difficult humanitarian situation on the tiny island.

Italy’s conservative government has decided that the tens of thousands of illegal immigrants who arrive annually on Lampedusa by boat will not be transferred elsewhere but held on the island until they are deported.

In the past, those migrants seeking asylum would have been sent to the Italian mainland.

European watchdog The Council of Europe has criticised the Italian government’s hardline immigration policies, urging it to uphold all illegal immigrants’ right under European law to apply for political asylum and/or refugee status and not be summarily deported.

Under European law illegal immigrants may be detained for up to 18 months and the government has announced plans to build a larger detention centre on the island to hold the migrants.

The move has sparked protests from islanders and illegal immigrants on Lampedusa alike. Police on Monday recaptured two Tunisians in their early twenties who escaped from the island’s detention centre and said they did not wish to return there.

Some 20 illegal immigrants were still missing on Monday after hundreds broke out of the centre at the weekend and headed for the town hall to complain about conditions in the detention centre. Some local residents also took part in the protest, in which the illegal migrants shouted “Freedom” and “Help us”.

Residents on the picturesque island are unhappy over the damage to tourism caused by the detention centre and the police and military presence there.

Media images of boatloads of illegal migrants arriving on Lampedusa and of corpses floating in the sea or washing up on its beautiful beaches have also impacted the tourist trade on which the island relies.

Lampedusa came to a standstill last Friday when around half the tiny island’s 6,000 inhabitants staged a demonstration in protest at government’s planned opening of a second detention centre on the island.

Shops and businesses went on strike as islanders called for the government to transfer the illegal immigrants held on Lampedusa to camps on the Italian mainland.

Around 36,000 boat people made it to Italian soil last year — a 75 per cent increase compared to 2007. Of these 31,000 arrived on Lampedusa, according to the Italian interior ministry and UNHCR.

Italy took more than half the 67,000 immigrants who arrived by sea in Europe last year, mostly from Africa. The country needs more assistance from other European Union states, the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg acknowledged during a vist to Italy earlier this month.

(ANSAmed) — LAMPEDUSA (AGRIGENTO), JANUARY 26 — Around one hundred immigrants, currently housed in the holding centre in Lampedusa, will be transferred by plane at around 3pm, to the temporary residency centre in Bari. The majority of those involved are asylum seekers from Nigeria, Bangladesh, Eritrea and some migrants in poor conditions of health, including two women. The majority of people to be moved are women. There are currently 1398 migrants on the island: 1318 men in the holding centre, the two women who are ill in the centrés infirmary and a further 78 women in the ex-naval base in Loran. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — BRUSSELS, JANUARY 29 — “I think that Interior Minister Roberto Maronìs initiatives are correct”. We will find “a solution” which will unite respecting rights and legality, said Foreign Minister Franco Frattini while speaking to journalists in Brussels on the crisis in Lampedusa. (ANSAmed).

(ANSAmed) — LAMPEDUSA (AGRIGENTO), JANUARY 27- This morning in Lampedusa a protest against the opening of an Identification and Expulsion Centre for migrants on the island began. The protest included about 1,500 people and was initiated by the Mayor of Lampedusa, Dino De Rubeis. Today, the town council has called a 12 hour general strike to allow mass participation. At the port, the demonstration will include a ceremony commemorating migrants who have died during their voyage from Africa to Italy. In the meantime, last night 130 Sub-Saharan Africans were transferred from the Immigration Centre to the Loran ex naval base where the Identification and Expulsion Centre will be built. The transfer will allow some relief at the present Immigration Centre where in the past few days the number of migrants has exceeded 1,000. (ANSAmed)

(by Cristiana Missori) (ANSAmed) — AGADIR, JANUARY 26 — According to data gathered by the Council of Moroccans Living Abroad (Ccme), in the last 20 years, Moroccan migration has undergone enormous changes including an exceptional demographic expansion, many females leaving the country, and a total “sedentarisation”, but also an incredible “thirst for Morocco” by second and third generations who now want return to their roots. The Ccme, and group instituted by King Mohammed VI in 2007 which includes people who live in the main countries of emigration, aims at formulating recommendations to improve Moroccan public policies for citizens who live outside of the national territory and has more funds at its disposal than the Minister of Culture. Driss El Yazami, the President of the Ccme explained, “Halfway through the 90s, our population was 1 million 500 thousand. Now we are double that number”. According to statistics reported by the Moroccan Foreign Minister, in 2008 the number of Moroccan citizens residing abroad are almost 3.3 million. Of these, more than 85pct live in Europe. Their number one destination is France with 1 million 131 thousand Moroccan emigrants, followed by Spain (547 thousand), and Italy (379 thousand Moroccans, the second most populous group after Romanians). Belgium and the Netherlands have Moroccan populations of 285 thousand and 278 thousand. Who are today’s emigrants? “One out of every two migrants”, said El Yazami, “is female. These are married and divorced women deciding to leave the country. They send more money home than men, money used mainly to educate children”. This all has evident effects on the social organisation of Morocco. On an economic level, underlined El Yazami, money sent home by emigrants is between 11pct and 12pct of the Gdp. “The money that residents abroad send home, equalling one-third of bank deposits in the country, covers 40pct of Moroccan imports”. The effects of the crisis are starting to take their toll though. “In the first semester of 2008 we had a slight decrease. We predict a 1.1pct decrease in money being sent home from Spain due to a collapse in the construction industry, which resulted in 600 thousand unemployed Moroccans in Spain”. More women have emigrated, but also more educated people have emigrated from Morocco. The socio-cultural level of Moroccans emigrating is growing. “Morocco is also staring to lose its most qualified minds”, stated El Yazami, while many more Moroccans are deciding to reside permanently in the country to which they emigrate. All of this has created what Morocco believes is a national emergency: second and third generations growing up outside of Morocco. “Emotional ties are very strong and they result in different phenomena, including mass returns during summer vacations, and a strong request for culture”. The phenomenon of illegal immigration persists, and according to the Ccme, things will not change in the future. Illegal immigrants are not always unemployed though. “Those who decided to illegally emigrate to Italy or elsewhere often have a job in Morocco”, said El Yazami. For now, the council does not have a clear framework of the Moroccan community in Italy. “We want to tighten relations with the academic world, the central and local institutions, and associations and unions to understand who the identity of our co-nationals abroad. We are a group that is looking to the future and emigrant needs. In 2010 we will present out first strategic report”. (ANSAmed)

(ANSAmed) — ROME, JANUARY 26 — Minister of the Interior Roberto Maroni will be in Tunis tomorrow at 11:00 to meet with Tunisian Minister of the Interior and Local Development, Rafik Belhaj Kacem. As explained over past few days by Maroni, the goal of the visit is to implement an agreement for the repatriation of illegal Tunisian immigrants arriving in Italy. (ANSAmed)

In 1946, Dr. Benjamin Spock first published his infamous book “Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care,” which was unlike any that came before it. Instead of stressing the importance of teaching self-denial and respect for authority, Spock discouraged directive training and emphasized accommodating children’s feelings and catering to their preferences. No longer did children learn they could endure Brussels sprouts and suffer through daily chores. Using Spock’s approach, parents began to feed self-indulgence instead of instilling self-control — homes were becoming child-centered. As parents elevated children’s “freedom of expression” and natural cravings, children became more outspoken, defiant and demanding of gratification. In fact, they came to view gratification as a right.

Spock wrote his book in response to a cold, authoritarian philosophy of parenting that had been dominant in America. For years, parents had been told to withhold affection from their children — not to touch them too often — not to respond to their tears. Understanding of children had not been encouraged, and fathers had held a minor role in their nurture and care. These things distressed Spock, and they would have upset me had I been born back then. Children need our tender affection, understanding and respect. However, Spock’s solutions reflected total ignorance of the hedonistic bent of human nature and fostered an over-exalted sense of self-importance in children. Homes became hotbeds for narcissism, entitlement and victim thinking.

In the early ‘60s, under Spock’s influence, parents were watching their children become sassy and contentious, and increasing numbers were seeing them become juvenile delinquents and criminals. As the crime rate started to crawl up, SAT scores began to drop. Teenagers began to exercise less moral restraint and revealed an increasing contempt for authority. The free-love hippy movement and student protests were inevitable for children who had been raised to think too highly of themselves. Is it any surprise that Spock himself participated in protests and was arrested in 1968 because of his contempt for governmental authority?

[Comment from JD: A documentary showing what the world would be like if America was not involved around the world. I have not see the film as yet, but it seems interesting. The following is from the “About” film portion of the site.]

This feature length documentary debates the implications and consequences of US military involvement in the world today.

From an isolationist nation at the end of World War One, the US today has bases in over ninety countries. No other nation has been able to project military power as the US does today. But is such an involvement sustainable? Despite its might, the US is shrinking in terms of population and economic power in relation to the rest of the world.

So, what would happen should the United States leave the international scene, and become again a “normal nation”, a republic, and not an empire?

To find an answer to this question, director and producer Mitch Anderson embarked on an investigative trip on four continents. “The World Without US” is an in-depth investigation of how US foreign policy affects the lives of millions of people around the world.

Future scenarios in the absence of the US intervention are well debated and substantiated by experts and ordinary citizens whose lives have been affected by the American presence in different regions.

The film’s main expert is Niall Ferguson PHD. Niall is very well reputed in the documentary world, he has co-authored many docs at BBC and Chanel4 in the UK and he’s the author of several volumes on world history. He contributes on regular basis on a number of Current Events magazines in the US and Europe.

“The World Without US” is conclusive, politically charged and opinionated, making for good drama while staying true to the facts and journalistic integrity.

1 comments:

What is it about Islam that EU politicians adore and defend so vigorously? What is so redeeming about the barbarian culture of Islam? The only explanation I have is that some people are born evil, just as in cartoons. I's depressing...